The days of free radio for baseball fans are numbered. First the Cardinals leave KMOX and now the Pirates don't renew with KDKA. What gives?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060912/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_pirates_kdka

buehrle4cy05

09-12-2006, 07:30 PM

The days of free radio for baseball fans are numbered. First the Cardinals leave KMOX and now the Pirates don't renew with KDKA. What gives?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060912/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_pirates_kdka

I'm sure the 10 Pirates fans are devastated.

Erik The Red

09-12-2006, 09:00 PM

I thought that stations beginning with a "K" were WEST of the Mississippi... :?:

CLR01

09-12-2006, 09:16 PM

I thought that stations beginning with a "K" were WEST of the Mississippi... :?:

They are but there are a few exceptions that have been around since the 20's-30's that break the K=West W=East (which was wrong itself).

TornLabrum

09-12-2006, 11:45 PM

One of those exceptions east of the Mississippi is KYW in Philadelphia (which was actually transferred there from Chicago by Westinghouse in the late '20s or early '30s. One west of the Mississippi is WDAF in Kansas City.

chaerulez

09-12-2006, 11:48 PM

The days of free radio for baseball fans are numbered. First the Cardinals leave KMOX and now the Pirates don't renew with KDKA. What gives?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060912/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_pirates_kdka

Isn't it still on free radio?

Nellie_Fox

09-13-2006, 12:02 AM

One of those exceptions east of the Mississippi is KYW in Philadelphia (which was actually transferred there from Chicago by Westinghouse in the late '20s or early '30s. One west of the Mississippi is WDAF in Kansas City.Thanks Torn. I was just about to humiliate myself by proclaiming that KDKA was the only K station east of the Mississippi, but you saved me.

PaulDrake

09-13-2006, 12:06 AM

Isn't it still on free radio? From the linked article:

Because KDKA will no longer carry games, out-of-state Pirates fans who do not have a local radio affiliate of the team must subscribe to Major League Baseball's online service or XM radio to keep hearing Pirates games. XM carries all Pirates games, but the team's broadcasters are heard only during home games. The team's radio network currently includes 37 stations, mostly in Pennsylvania but also in Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.

KDKA has a powerful signal that is picked up as far away as the Rockies if atmospheric conditions permit. The new station, WPGB 104.7 FM doesn't come close.

Fenway

09-13-2006, 09:31 AM

One of those exceptions east of the Mississippi is KYW in Philadelphia (which was actually transferred there from Chicago by Westinghouse in the late '20s or early '30s. One west of the Mississippi is WDAF in Kansas City.

In the 50's KYW would up in Cleveland and then in the 60's back to Philly.

The Red Sox wanted to move to FM but Entercom offered them 19 million a year for 10 years ( this is for RADIO )

To get the money back Entercom will move the Red Sox to WRKO-680 ( stronger night signal to the west ) and on WEEI will have what they call Game Thread radio inspired by Sons of Sam Horn. They figure people at home may watch TV but listen to the thread. It might work.

BURGH what to you think?
WPGB's audience is 116 percent more likely than the mean to have an advanced college degree; KDKA's audience is 10 percent more likely.
http://www.postgazette.com/pg/images/newsimages/dot.gifWPGB's audience is 112 percent more likely than the mean to have a household income of between $100,000 and $149,000; KDKA's is 7 percent more likely.

SOXintheBURGH

09-13-2006, 11:22 AM

Digusting. :angry:

KDKA carried the first ever radio baseball broadcast. This is getting to be shameful. If it weren't for the mockery of Mike Lange moving to radio for Pens games I may never turn on the radio again.

Railsplitter

09-15-2006, 10:47 AM

They are but there are a few exceptions that have been around since the 20's-30's that break the K=West W=East (which was wrong itself).

The ruling was made in 1926. Older ones were grandfathered in. Ever see of a picture of Ronald Reagan at a mike with the call sign WHO? That one is in Des Moines, Iowa. Also, new call signs after 1926 had to have four letters.

Chicken Dinner

09-15-2006, 11:50 AM

Actually, every airport broadcast navigation frequencies so every airport in the US begins with K. KORD or KMDW for example.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KORD

tigersfan25

09-16-2006, 09:47 PM

KDKA is one of my favorite radio stations too... 12 AM eastern every Friday and Saturday has the Dr. Knowledge show. Good Stuff, if you like useless trivia.

steveironcity

09-17-2006, 01:06 PM

Kdka was the first radio station in the world.

Fenway

09-22-2006, 02:00 PM

Kdka was the first radio station in the world.

KDKA was the first station licensed by the US Government but there were a handfull of other stations before KDKA

Oldest station in North America was CFCF in Montreal that started broadcasting in 1919

KDKA explains why they dumped the Pirates

You might know the Pirates produce their own radio broadcasts from studios at PNC Park. The Pirates' own sales staff sells ads that air on KDKA during the games. KDKA collects no revenue under this deal.

The only benefit we can get from the Pirates, as our deal is structured, is a boost in ratings. Unfortunately, since the team's performance lately has been less than we'd all like, Pittsburgh has lost interest in the Pirates and fewer fans are listening to the games. Ratings for Pirates games have been falling steadily over the past few seasons. Pirates games add up to 600 hours a year on KDKA. Collectively, that's like watching a losing team for 25 straight days!
KDKA proposed a new business arrangement with the team -- one that made business sense for the station and for our listeners and stockholders. The Pirates apparently found a better deal elsewhere. For them, it was strictly business, too.